30 March 2008

Beer Diary - Jim | Down on the FARM in Bloomington

Back in January, Jason urged readers to visit FARM Bloomington to enjoy their superlative beer offerings. The Lovely Redhead and I did just that yesterday while we were on a long-awaited weekend retreat to Brown and Monroe Counties.

First, however, a brief word about the food: it was phenomenal. We chose to park at the bar and order from the tapas menu. We shared the Minty Green Pea Guacamole with tortilla chips and "The Big Red" FARMpie (that's a tomato, garlic, pesto, and mozzarella cheese pizza in case you're wondering). The guacamole was light and crisp and worked perfectly with the razor-thin torilla chips. The pizza, topped with garden-fresh ingredients, was head-and-shoulders above many "gourmet" pies we've had here in Naptown.

As for the beer offerings, FARM has seven taps in the main bar and two downstairs in their Root Cellar bar. We didn't venture to the Root Cellar, but we did see that the draft selections in the main bar were well-chosen in their diversity and quality. I'm kicking myself for not writing down these selections (FARM's online menu is now out-of-date), but here are the selections I can recall from the main bar:

Brugge is getting their word out at FARM because all beers are served with a Brugge Beer coaster, complete with the eye-catching graphics that Brugge has become known for. I had a 90 Minute, which was superb as always. Even the Redhead, who is a malty beer girl when she partakes and is quite hop-shy, found the 90 Minute pleasing. The bottled beer selection appeared to be just as wonderful as the draft beer selection, with craft brews such as Alpha King, Ommegang, and Brooklyner Weisse for sale. And the pint prices were reasonable: $5.00 at the most expensive, with $2.50 pints one night a week (Tuesday nights, I believe).

It's heartening to see another fine dining establishment which recognizes that craft beer is a key element of the menu. Pay FARM a visit the next time you visit the land of Cream and Crimson.

KOTBR #90 - Medal Winners - We visit Barley Island and Brugge Brasserie in Broad Ripple to try some medal winning beers. Things get interesting when we are joined by some special guests, including Michael Phelps, Rob Halford, Glenn Danzig, and Brugge's very own Ted Miller.

Beer: The Pedal Pusher's Potion - Our first in depth feature receives support from Dogfish Head, Left Hand, Breckenridge Brewery, and Smuttynose, and draws in hits from hundreds of cyclists looking for a beer buzz.